How state policymakers can address unequal access to adequate school facilities

When policymakers discuss educational inequality, the conversation usually centers on teachers, curriculum, or school funding.

当政策制定者讨论教育不平等时，话题通常集中在教师、课程或学校经费上。

Yet one important factor often receives far less attention: the condition of the school building itself.

然而，一个重要因素往往受到的关注要少得多：学校建筑本身的状况。

The aging of the nation’s school infrastructure has brought this issue into sharper focus.

国家学校基础设施的老化使这个问题更加引人注目。

According to a report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the average public school building is 49 years old.

根据国家教育统计中心（NCES）的报告，公立学校建筑的平均使用年限为 49 年。

Thirty-eight percent of these buildings were constructed before 1970, and roughly one-quarter have never undergone a major renovation .

这些建筑中有 38% 是 1970 年之前建造的，大约四分之一从未进行过重大翻修。

This matters more than we might realize.

这比我们想象的更重要。

A growing body of evidence shows that school facilities influence student achievement , enrollment , behavior , and nearby property values .

越来越多的证据表明，学校设施会影响学生的成绩、入学率、行为和附近的房产价值。

For example, one study found that elementary and middle school construction increases reading scores by 0.15 standard deviations and public school enrollment by 17% six years after construction.

例如，一项研究发现，中小学建设六年后，阅读成绩提高了 0.15 个标准差，公立学校入学率提高了 17%。

Another study found that deficiencies in school infrastructure are associated with a 16% higher rate of hospitalization among children with asthma.

另一项研究发现，学校基础设施的缺陷与哮喘儿童住院率增加 16% 有关。

At the same time, substantial disparities persist in the quality of school facilities, suggesting that unequal access to adequate school buildings may be an important, and often overlooked, dimension of educational inequality.

与此同时，学校设施质量方面仍然存在巨大差异，这表明获得充足校舍的机会不平等可能是教育不平等的一个重要且经常被忽视的方面。

We have been studying issues related to facilities in hopes of giving policymakers a more nuanced understanding of the disparities related to facilities and the factors that contribute to them.

我们一直在研究与设施相关的问题，希望能让政策制定者更细致地了解与设施相关的差异以及造成这些差异的因素。

In a forthcoming study , we share evidence from New York state (setting aside New York City, which has distinct systems that are not directly comparable to the rest of the state).

在即将进行的一项研究中，我们分享来自纽约州的证据（纽约市除外，该市具有与该州其他地区无法直接比较的独特系统）。

For the study, we linked data from school building inspections conducted by engineers and architects with administrative education data.

在这项研究中，我们将工程师和建筑师进行的校舍检查数据与行政教育数据联系起来。

This allows us to assess the overall state of school building conditions, how building conditions vary across student racial and ethnic groups, and what role structural factors—such as school funding sources—play in explaining these gaps.

这使我们能够评估学校建筑条件的总体状况、建筑条件在学生种族和族裔群体中的差异，以及结构性因素（例如学校资金来源）在解释这些差距方面发挥的作用。

We find that students of color are systematically more likely than white students to attend schools with poorer physical conditions.

我们发现，有色人种学生比白人学生更有可能就读身体条件较差的学校。

Importantly, we find that these disparities are closely tied to how school facilities are financed.

重要的是，我们发现这些差异与学校设施的融资方式密切相关。

In New York state, capital projects such as new construction and renovations or repairs are primarily financed by localities (with long-term bonds and capital reserve funds).

在纽约州，新建和改建或维修等资本项目主要由地方融资（使用长期债券和资本储备金）。

The state supplements this with building aid to cover eligible construction costs in districts with less wealth.

国家通过建筑援助来补充这一资金，以支付贫困地区的合格建筑成本。

Our findings suggest that nearly one-third of the difference in school building conditions between students of color and white students is linked to differences in local property tax revenue—and that state building aid narrows the gap in building conditions.

我们的研究结果表明，有色人种学生和白人学生之间学校建筑条件的差异近三分之一与当地财产税收入的差异有关，而国家建筑援助缩小了建筑条件的差距。

Using data from more than 2,300 public schools, we examined 23 measures of school facility quality spanning three main dimensions: building aesthetics, environmental conditions, and access to health and recreational facilities.

我们利用 2,300 多所公立学校的数据，研究了 23 项衡量学校设施质量的指标，涵盖三个主要维度：建筑美观、环境条件以及健康和娱乐设施的使用情况。

Overall, New York’s schools perform reasonably well on many measures.

总体而言，纽约的学校在许多方面都表现得相当不错。

More than 90% of schools received reports of clean classrooms, no excessive noise, and no vermin, while 75% have good lighting.

超过 90% 的学校收到报告称教室干净、没有过度噪音、没有害虫，75% 的学校拥有良好的照明。

Heating and cooling system conditions are generally adequate (94% and 88% of schools, respectively), and 92% have no mold exposure.

供暖和制冷系统条件普遍充足（分别为 94% 和 88% 的学校），92% 的学校没有霉菌暴露。

Most schools also have access to basic health and recreational facilities: 90% have a health office, and most students have access to either playground equipment or athletic fields.

大多数学校还可以使用基本的健康和娱乐设施：90% 的学校设有健康办公室，大多数学生可以使用操场设备或运动场。

These (and other) findings from the reports appear in Figure 1.

报告中的这些（和其他）发现如图 1 所示。

However, statewide averages mask some important disparities.

然而，全州平均水平掩盖了一些重要的差异。

Schools serving predominantly students of color consistently fare worse on measures of building quality than schools serving mostly white students.

主要为有色人种学生提供服务的学校在建筑质量指标上始终比主要为白人学生提供服务的学校表现较差。

These differences appear across nearly every dimension examined.

这些差异几乎出现在所检查的每个维度上。

For example, schools serving mostly students of color are 15 percentage points less likely to receive a good cleanliness rating and 12 percentage points less likely to have good lighting.

例如，主要为有色人种学生服务的学校获得良好清洁度评级的可能性要低 15 个百分点，拥有良好照明的可能性要低 12 个百分点。

They are 26 percentage points less likely to have satisfactory ventilation systems and 7 percentage points more likely to report mold.

他们拥有令人满意的通风系统的可能性降低了 26 个百分点，而报告霉菌的可能性则提高了 7 个百分点。

They are also 19 percentage points less likely to have athletic fields and 12 percentage points less likely to have a health office.

他们拥有运动场的可能性也降低了 19 个百分点，拥有卫生办公室的可能性也降低了 12 个百分点。

These differences matter for students.

这些差异对学生来说很重要。

For example, improvements in overall building quality can increase academic performance.

例如，整体建筑质量的提高可以提高学习成绩。

Effective ventilation can mitigate the educational and behavioral effects of heat and outdoor air pollution.

有效的通风可以减轻高温和室外空气污染对教育和行为的影响。

Recreational facilities can support physical activity and student well-being.

娱乐设施可以支持体育活动和学生的福祉。

The disparities become even clearer when examining student-level exposure by race and ethnicity.

当按种族和民族考察学生的接触程度时，这种差异变得更加明显。

Hispanic students are the most likely to attend schools with poorer building conditions across virtually every measure.

从几乎所有指标来看，西班牙裔学生最有可能就读于建筑条件较差的学校。

Black students also experience below-average facility conditions, although not to the same extent.

黑人学生的设施条件也低于平均水平，尽管程度不同。

How do such disparities come about?

这种差异是如何产生的呢？

Our analysis points to one factor more than any other: differences in local property wealth.

我们的分析比其他任何因素都更能指出一个因素：当地财产财富的差异。

Local property tax revenue explains nearly one-third of the racial gap in overall school building conditions.

地方财产税收入解释了学校建筑整体条件中近三分之一的种族差异。

An earlier study has shown that communities with stronger property tax bases can invest more in maintaining, renovating, and expanding school facilities.

早期的一项研究表明，财产税基础较强的社区可以在维护、翻新和扩建学校设施方面投入更多资金。

We find that wealthier communities also contribute more through private donations, further widening differences in school infrastructure.

我们发现，较富裕的社区也通过私人捐赠做出更多贡献，进一步扩大了学校基础设施的差异。

At the same time, our findings offer an encouraging message for policymakers: State building aid works to offset the school condition disparities created by gaps in local property tax capacity.

与此同时，我们的研究结果为政策制定者提供了一个令人鼓舞的信息：国家建设援助致力于抵消地方财产税收能力差距造成的学校条件差异。

Without current state support for school construction and renovation, racial disparities in school building conditions would be about 17% larger.

如果没有目前国家对学校建设和翻修的支持，学校建筑条件的种族差异将扩大约 17%。

Although state building aid does not eliminate racial gaps, it plays an important equalizing role.

尽管国家建设援助并不能消除种族差距，但它发挥着重要的平等作用。

School facilities are often treated as separate from core educational investments.

学校设施通常被视为与核心教育投资分开的。

This distinction warrants reconsideration.

这种区别值得重新考虑。

Students spend more than 1,200 hours each year in school environments, yet the quality of those physical environments is not close to being ideal or equally distributed.

学生每年在学校环境中度过超过 1,200 小时，但这些物理环境的质量并不接近理想或分布均匀。

The good news is that these disparities are not inevitable or unsolvable.

好消息是，这些差异并非不可避免或无法解决。

Our findings suggest several practical steps that could help narrow infrastructure gaps.

我们的研究结果提出了一些有助于缩小基础设施差距的实际步骤。

First, states and the federal government can strengthen targeted building aid for districts serving students with the greatest needs.

首先，各州和联邦政府可以加强对学区的有针对性的建设援助，为最需要的学生提供服务。

Because state aid has the potential to offset part of facility inequalities created by local wealth, expanding these programs could significantly reduce disparities.

由于国家援助有可能抵消当地财富造成的部分设施不平等，因此扩大这些计划可以显着减少差距。

Second, policymakers should reconsider the heavy reliance on local property taxes to finance school capital projects.

其次，政策制定者应重新考虑严重依赖地方财产税来资助学校资本项目的情况。

Communities with weaker tax bases face greater challenges maintaining school facilities, even when facility needs are high.

即使设施需求很高，税基较弱的社区在维护学校设施方面也面临着更大的挑战。

A more progressive capital finance system could help ensure that school building quality depends less on where students live.

更先进的资本融资体系有助于确保学校建筑质量更少地依赖于学生居住的地方。

Third, states should improve transparency around school facility conditions.

第三，各州应提高学校设施条件的透明度。

New York provides a strong example: Its detailed, standardized building-condition data make it possible to assess variation in infrastructure conditions across schools.

纽约提供了一个强有力的例子：其详细、标准化的建筑条件数据使得评估各学校基础设施条件的差异成为可能。

Other states, including Maryland , Colorado , Rhode Island , and New Mexico , also maintain statewide school building reports or databases.

其他州，包括马里兰州、科罗拉多州、罗德岛州和新墨西哥州，也维护全州范围的学校建筑报告或数据库。

Expanding this kind of regular, public reporting on building quality, environmental conditions, and recreational infrastructure would help policymakers identify schools with the greatest needs and better target investments.

扩大这种关于建筑质量、环境条件和娱乐基础设施的定期公开报告将有助于政策制定者确定需求最大的学校和更有针对性的投资。

Finally, infrastructure planning should prioritize improvements most likely to benefit students.

最后，基础设施规划应优先考虑最有可能使学生受益的改进。

Research points particularly to environmental conditions—such as ventilation , air quality , and temperature —as affecting students’ engagement and learning.

研究特别指出环境条件（例如通风、空气质量和温度）会影响学生的参与和学习。

This research shows that school facility investments are not merely maintenance projects.

这项研究表明，学校设施投资不仅仅是维护项目。

They are long-term investments in student growth.

它们是对学生成长的长期投资。